US Dept of Justice Puts the Kabosh on AT&T and T-Mobile Merger!!

In March of this year AT&T announced plans to buy out rival T-Mobile. This merger would make AT&T the largest provider of cellular service in the United States effectively leapfrogging Verizon. Of course Sprint and Verizon were not big fans of this maneuver and the companies particularly Sprint have been quite vocal in their opposition. Now it seems that the United States Government has some issues as well.

Bloomberg is reporting today that the US Department of Justice has filed an antitrust complaint to stop this merger immediately. If the merger does not go through it would be a very bad day for AT&T since they will owe T-Mobile $3billion in the case of the deal not working. AT&T has promised alot of jobs to the American worker in the merger but it seems the DOJ needs a little more convincing and feel that the merger would result in “in higher prices, poorer quality services, fewer choices and fewer innovative products for the millions of American consumers who rely on mobile wireless services in their everyday lives.”

The FCC also issues a statement-“By filing suit today, the Department of Justice has concluded that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would substantially lessen competition in violation of the antitrust laws. Competition is an essential component of the FCC’s statutory public interest analysis, and although our process is not complete, the record before this agency also raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition. Vibrant competition in wireless services is vital to innovation, investment, economic growth and job creation, and to drive our global leadership in mobile. Competition fosters consumer benefits, including more choices, better service and lower prices” Julius Genachowski, chairman, FCC

Not to be left out here is what AT&T Senior VP Wayne Watts has to say-

"We are surprised and disappointed by today's action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated. We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed. The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court. At the end of the day, we believe facts will guide any final decision and the facts are clear. This merger will:

· Help solve our nation's spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions.
· Allow AT&T to expand 4G LTE mobile broadband to another 55 million Americans, or 97% of the population;
· Result in billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most.
We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court."

It seems that right now noone knows that this merger will mean for the US consumer and the Government is not comfortable letting it do through without some more research. Rest assured that this is only the first

strike in what is sure to be a long battle. With $3billion at stake AT&T will not go quietly into the night!!

JKeene AndroREV Writer

We are AndroREV, WE ARE!!!!

Irene Can't Stop all this Galaxy S II Goodness for AT&T and T-Mobile!!

For months now Android fans in the US have watched and waited. Waited for one of the biggest Android phones of the year to reach our shores and not even Hurricane Irene can hold it back for long! Samsung held their big event today in New York City to unveil three versions of GSII. Kidromulous already reported on the Sprint version here and now for the AT&T and T-Mobile versions.

Thankfully for my typing hand both AT&T and T-Mobile kept it simple in naming this device and just went with Galaxy S II branding for bother versions. The AT&T GSII will be releasing Sept. 18th and will sport all the specs we have come to know and love. The phone will be packing a 1.2GHz dualcore processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 4G HSPA+ radio,8MP rear camera w/2MP front camera,1080p HD video support, HDMI out and 1650 mAh battery. The AT&T GSII will come with a 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display which may come as a disappointment to some. Keep in mind that the Infuse already has the 4.5" display and the smaller battery and screen keep the phone down to a very slim 8.89mm.

The T-Mobile GSII is a little harder to write up, it seems that their version was not quite ready for the show and was not able to be demo'd. They did have a version on display and it showed off some very nicely rounded corners and a softer look. The T-Mobile version will be equipped with the larger 4.52 Super AMOLED display, 8MP rear and 2MP front camera combo w/ 1080p HD video support, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.2 GHz dualcore processor, HSPA+ 4G radio, WiFi calling, and a large number of preloaded apps. There is no actual release date or final specs for weight and width reveled at the show.

Samsung is already showing off numerous docks and accessories for these phones so you will be able to buy gear to your heart's content. The big news here is that this phone is finally concrete and everyone can start checking to see when your contract upgrade is due!!

Picture Source-Engadget

JKeene AndroREV Writer

We are AndroREV, WE ARE!!!!!!!

HP to make more Touch Pads?

So HP has seen the light and decided to make one final run of TouchPads to help meet demand. These extra pads will reportedly appear in the next few weeks and honeslty I have to say I'm quite pleased with the decision and not because I'm excited to see Cyanogen Mod running on a WebOS tablet but because I'm still kind of excited about WebOS. There are still good people very dedicated to the WebOS software platform not to mention HP themselves who have not abandoned software at all only hardware production (there seems to be some confusion about this.) Perhaps I will get my hands on one this time around. One thing we don't know is exactly how many they will produce.

Kidromulous
AndroREV
We Are Androrev WE are!

Samsung Epic 4G Touch Has Emerged

So all the speculation can finally end we know that Sprint will be the first to get the Samsung Epic 4G Touch and that it will be a 4G Wimax variant of the Samsung Galaxt S II.Finally the phone has been announced ahead of tonight's event and it's coming to Sprint's 4G network next month. This monster will pack a 4.52 inch Super AMOLED and the 1.2 GHz Exynos processor. How does this change things for you? Especially with the rumor that Verizon may hold exclusivity rights (at least for a time) to the the Samsung Prime phone. Have you guys considered multiple manufacturers for the Prime? More on these theories and the Samsung event to come.

Kidromulous
Editor in Chief
AndroREV

The Nexus Prime To Be Verizon Exclusive named Droid Prime???

Verizon for the Win!!!!

After breaking news yesterday on the soon to be announced Samsung Galaxy S II 4G LTE it seems that this phone had more secrets to reveal. To the heartbreak of many Verizon customers the announcement was made that Big Red would not be picking up the Galaxy S II. The reason given by Verizon corporate was the lineup of upcoming releases had no place for the GSII. Well now the real reason for this decision has been reveled and it will be worth the wait! Read on for details.

The Galaxy S II LTE will come with a 4.65" Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.5GHz dualcore processor,Android 4.0 Icecream Sandwich and 4G LTE radios. These specs match up very closely to what we know about the Nexus Prime and now for the big news! Not only is Verizon getting this phone but they will be getting it in October and it will be a Verizon exclusive!! Rumor has it that the phone will be branded the Droid Prime however this is certainly not fact yet. First off the Droid Bionic is releasing very soon and Verizon does not make a habit of dropping multiple flagship "Droid" branded phones that close together. Second is the fact that this has long been rumored to be a Nexus Device, calling the phone the Droid Prime would make it a Verizon exclusive(and we know the ICS Nexus will be on other carriers). Maybe there is another Nexus device lurking out there? More likely we are jumping the gun on the name of this phone and it will settle out to be the Nexus Prime. This phone will be packing some serious specs and looks to do battle with the Iphone 5 on Verizon since they will be dropping at about the same time. With both of these phones both Verizon and the customers win as they will have the pick of the best the Android and iOS has to offer right now. The real question for us Verizon Android users is will this phone bring us the stock Android experience (which if it is a Nexus device it should be stock android) or will it be skinned in Touchwiz and crammed with the usual Big Red bloat? Here's to hoping Big Red leaves this phone in its stock Android state. Either way it looks like all of us on Verizon will get the first crack at the very best that Samsung and Android have to offer this year and that should make for some very happy campers in Big Reds camp!

JKeene AndroREV Writer

We are AndroREV, WE ARE!!!!!

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